Volunteer profile: Thompkins likes giving back

She was born and raised in the Los Angeles, Calif. After living in Portales for many years, she moved away for a short time. She has been living here for five years since returning.

Although she has had many different jobs, Tompkins currently dedicates the majority of her free time to volunteering opportunities.

What kind of volunteering have you done? I have worked with many different organizations such as Meals on Wheels, the Pink Ladies at Roosevelt General Hospital, United Way, the Wesley Foundation and the Portales Women’s Club.

What is the your favorite part of volunteering for Portales Women’s Club? I really enjoy the Women’s Day Out that the Portales Women’s Club hosts every year. It’s our way of giving back to the community and helping the local businesses, especially those that don’t have big billboards or advertisements.

What is the most rewarding experience you have had while volunteering? I really enjoy what we do for Heartland Continuing Care every year.

A group of ladies from the Portales Women’s Club gets together and creates a serenity garden for residences. We pull weeds and plant new flowers and create an area for meditation and relaxation for them.

Have you received any honors or awards for volunteering? Last year I won the volunteer of the year award from the Portales Women’s Club. That award doesn’t matter, what matters is that I’m giving back.

Would you encourage others to volunteer? Yes. Everyone has problems. God tells you to think about others and those problems will go away. You will have your mind on other things.

What does your organization need right now? We need more members. We need people who want to do things for the community, because it’s not just a social group.

What’s your favorite television show? Why? I like Fringe. I like it because it’s unusual and different. It reminds me a lot of X-Files.

If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? My mom. I took care of her from the time that I was 17 until I was 30.

It would be great to just talk to her and let her see what has happened. You always worry about your kids.

She always told me that she was worried about me. Being able to talk to her and tell her what I’ve done and what I’m doing would be great.

She was my best friend. She was everything to me. She was cool and real. My mom did the best she could with what she had. She had a lot of obstacles, but she loved me enough to keep going.

What’s your favorite food? Baklava.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? Ottumwa, Iowa. That is where my twin brother lives.